Retallick - 7

Franks - 12

Cruden - 8

Barrett - 11

The Chiefs claimed a bonus point after scoring four tries to three, sealing number one position in the New Zealand conference with two weeks of the regular season still to play.

Hunting back-to-back titles, they showed no ill effects from a three-week break in New Zealand to accommodate the All Blacks' Test series against France.

"We were maybe a bit rusty in the first half and had a bit more accuracy and a bit more ticker in the second half," captain Craig Clarke said.

The Chiefs' sixth consecutive win sees them leapfrog the Brumbies to the top of the table, claiming a two-point advantage over their Australian rivals with two games in hand.

The loss ends the Hurricanes' hopes of a play-off berth, with captain Conrad Smith saying they were competitive in a frantic first half but let the Chiefs run away with the match in the second.

"They're a very good side, they're at the top of the table for a reason, so we've just got to swallow it and move on," he said.

The Hurricanes, with their season on the line, set out to test the Chiefs' defence early but it proved up to the challenge and the home side edged ahead through an Aaron Cruden penalty after eight minutes.

The Hurricanes maintained the pressure and their patience was rewarded when Beauden Barrett set up TJ Perenara for a try with a neat cross-field kick, then added the conversion to make it 7-3.

The defending champions struck back immediately through Matt Vant Leven, who latched onto a line-out ball and scythed through the Hurricanes' line for a five-pointer.

Inside centre Bundee Aki gave the Chiefs a second try when a Cruden chip-kick over the advancing Hurricanes defenders found him in space and perfectly positioned for the simplest of touch downs.

The end-to-end play continued, with Barrett inspirational in attack as he waltzed past a trio of tacklers for his team's second try.

The pivot missed the conversion but potted a penalty before half-time to narrow the gap to 15-17.

The Hurricanes missed a penalty attempt that would have given them the lead just after the restart before the Chiefs slowly took control of the match, dominating the scrum.

Tries to Tawera Kerr-Barlow and Ben Tameifuna saw their lead blow out to 34-15 before Alapati Leiua clawed back a consolation five-pointer for the Hurricanes.